This chapter follows the style of 'VFDC Wiki',[1] with some revisions which shall add some important principles that had been published in only Japanese.

5・1 General Principle of Input Buffer

Capter 4 dealt with the concept of 'Advantage and Disadvantage'.[2]Don’t be concerned if you are weak in command-input on the fastest timing. During times when you're frozen and unable to move (such as Recovery Phase),[3] any buttons you input will get placed into a buffer (Diagram 5−1). This is called Input Buffer that has become a commonly used term after Virtua Fighter 2 (since 1994).

Diagram 5−1

You have only to enter a button during the last 12 frames (detected by Lettuce)[4] of your recovery, which will get executed the very first frame you're able to move (Diagram 5−2).

Diagram 5−2

Have you ever had experience in which you pressed an attack button during recovery and nothing came out? Probably, your input was too early! Notice the attack does not get processed if you enter the button before the Input Buffer (Diagram 5−3).

Diagram 5−3

5・2 Guard Buffering

The frame chart below shows P entered 1 frame later from the end of Recovery Phase, in which 12 frames punch would potentially take 13 frames (Diagram 5−4).

Diagram 5−4

In addition, your character is standing idle within 1 frame, and such a behavior seemed inappropriate (Diagram 5−5).

Diagram 5−5

Following on from Input Buffer, you can use Guard button G to input commands: enter P and release Gas simultaneously as possible, or faster (Diagram 5−6. See also Figure 5−1).

Diagram 5−6

Figure 5−1*
*Notice that the execution of 12 frames punch starts at the next frame of pressing P (See left Fig.).[3]

You can hold your character steady by using Guard Buffering (Diagram 5−7). The Guard Buffering is exceptionally effective for the use of an attack delayed as you want (Tainai in Japanese). A type of this Delayed Attack (Gobu Uchi[5] in Japanese) will be mentioned in chapter 32. Our message is that:

Guard Buffering should always be carried out unless otherwise noted.

Diagram 5−7

5・3 Input Display (Dedicated to Mr. Akai)

Some of the figures (like Figure 5−1, See also Figure 5−2) suggest the reader to look at the images’ Input Display for more details. I assume most regular players understand how to analyze it (for those that do, ignore this section). For those that don’t, I think learning how to interpret it will help you in reading some of the 2AFC blog entries and also to analyze your own executions in the game:

Figure 5−2

The above figure is the Input Display option available in Final Showdown’s Training and Replay mode. The numbers displayed are a measure of time by units of frames (1 frame equals 1/60th of a second).[3]

Column A displays the length of time that has passed from a neutral state (no buttons or direction were pressed) to when a direction and/or button(s) were pressed (white numbers). In the last row, no inputs are pressed (G). Column B displays the length of time in which a direction and/or button(s) were pressed until release (yellow numbers). The direction and/or button(s) that were pressed are shown in Column C. A direction and/or button(s) that is still being pressed when another direction and/or button(s) is pressed or released are marked in the Input Display window with a thick gray line (D and E).

In Figure 5−2, three attacks were performed by Akira. The first attack is Yakuho Chouchu 666P (D). The second and third attack is Zanshu K+G (E and F). Note that the first Zanshu command input, the Akira player pressed the K button 1 frame earlier than the G button, but it still executed as Zanshu instead of Shoutai K or Cancelled ShoutaiKG. You are referred to ‘Neko Dojo's 2AFC Approach in VFDC (Ed., Akai)’ for a much more detailed analysis.[6]